On November 17th, the award ceremony took place forth international Harambee competition for documentaries and video clips about Africa, in Toulouse, France.
The Harambee France committee was in charge of this year’s edition (the award is given every two years). “We want to offer an image of Africa that is real and just: this is the goal of Harambee,” said Marino Müller, who organized the event.
Gérard Dastugue was also present on behalf of the international jury, and underlined the value of communication that favors reciprocal understanding, through the voice of the protagonists themselves, affirming that, “The expression is right: to communicate Africa, not communicate about Africa.” Sani Magori, President of the jury, added: “To talk about energy, work, the development of a vibrant civil society is a real mission, which is why I gladly accepted to be part of this jury. We need to encourage these kinds of initiatives today, because they are greatly needed.”
Representatives from local institutions presented the prizes to the winners. Denis Sneguirev and Philippe Chevallier won Best Documentary for their work “MADA UNDERGROUND“, an exciting report on the daily life of a group of young Malagasy artists, who, in spite of great difficulties, manage to make their dreams reality, giving a testimony of hope for a whole generation. “A partir de rien on construit tout ou presque (trans: We built almost everything from scratch),” recites the rapper from Antananarivo.
“It is not our message that is getting an award,” Denis said upon receiving the prize, “It is their message that we want to spread. Young people who can find solutions to the difficulties that arise everyday are a great example, and the history of their lives, rich in energy and determination, show that reality never corresponds to clichés.”
“SAINT JEAN INSTITUTE – SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING IN CAMEROON” by Nicholas Church won the award for best video clip. “This is not a ‘spot’ for a school,” explained Magori. “The video effectively shows, first and foremost, the value of education as a factor of economic and human growth.”
The ceremony concluded with special mentions of the video clips “VOLUNTEERS ON THE EQUATOR LINE” by Ana Candeias, and “CIAO MAMMA, I’M GOING TO AFRICA ” by Doctors with Africa CUAMM.
The next edition of the Communicating Africa award will be held in 2019.